And that made all the Difference
by Violet Scarlet Lily
Summary: Everyone has heard of Harry Potter, but what about what came before? The story of Lily Evans, the Marauders, Snape, Frank and Alice Longbottom, with a few OCs. All 7 years...eventually. This story is written by Lily!
1. Prologue

**Hello peoples of the world! Thank you so much for reading (or beginning to read) my story! I am really greatful! Anyway, on with it. This is a story written by Lily, not Alice. This is my version of what happened before Harry Potter. Marauder generation. So, you'll have Lily, James, Remus, Peter, Snape, and Sirius is here in all his craziness. Hope you like it, please _please please PLEASE_ Read and Review! I want reviews even more than I want caffeine! (And if you know me well that's saying something). By the way, this isn't the story, it just sort of explains the title.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling! That was easy...**

Albus Dumbledore was walking toward him, sprightly and upright.

"Harry." He spread his arms wide, and his hands were both whole and white and undamaged. "You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk."

Stunned, Harry followed as Dumbledore…lead him to two seats that Harry had not previously noticed…Dumbledore sat down in one of them, and Harry fell into the other, staring at his old headmaster's face. Dumbledore's long silver hair and beard, the piercingly blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the crooked nose: Everything was as he had remembered it. And yet…

"But you're dead," said Harry.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly.

"Then…I'm dead too?"

"Ah," said Dumbledore, smiling still more broadly. "That is the question, isn't it? On the whole, dear boy, I think not."

They looked at each other, the old man still beaming.

"Not?" repeated Harry.

"Not," said Dumbledore.

"But…" Harry raised his hand instinctively toward the lightning bolt scar. It did not seem to be there. "But I should have died – I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!"

"And that," said Dumbledore, "will, I think, have made all the difference."

~Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

**So...what did you think of the lame not-written-by-me prologue? I promise, it gets better! So after you read Chapter 1, please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello, citizens of earth! We meet again! Just kidding. The fact that you're reading this means you are tolerant enough of my lame prologue to keep reading, so kudos to you! Anyway, on with the _real _****story.**

Chapter 1

**Lily**

In hindsight, I'm glad we went to the park that day. If I hadn't convinced Tuney to take me that day, things would have been quite a bit harder.

Petunia was scared of me. Despite the fact that she was older, she was petrified at the things I could do. The one that scared her the most was my favorite. I would swing as high as I could, then jump off, flying through the air, staying up far to long, and then instead of crumpling on the sand, I would land as lightly as if I had jumped a millimeter. And it was on that fateful day at the park when I overshot on my flight.

Instead of landing by the merry-go-round, I landed in front of the flowering bush. Petunia ran towards me.

"Mummy told you not to!" she accused.

I giggled.

"But I'm fine! Tuney, look what I can do!"

Petunia would have been afraid to go by the bush had I not been there. We often heard strange noises coming from it, as someone starting to talk, and then strangling it back.

I picked up a blossom, and it began to open and close, open and close, like a bizarre sea plant.

"Stop it! Mummy told you not to!" Tuney squealed.

"It's not hurting you," I protested.

She gave me the look. The Lily-stop-it-or-I'll-tell look. When she does that, I didn't have much choice to give in. I dropped the flower regretfully.

"It's not right. How do you do it?" Petunia asked.

I couldn't have recognized it then, but as I look back, I realize what longing was in her voice, in her face, in every line of her being as she looked from the swing to the flower.

"I-"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

**Severus**

They both jumped. The elder one actually screamed and ran away towards the swings. Despite the fluttery excitement that was surging through me, I was humiliated. I'm sure a flush mounted in my cheeks, because I could feel them go hot. There I stood, dressed in a shabby overcoat, and ragged clothes. I felt like crawling back into the bush. Nevertheless, I swallowed, and continued.

"I know what you are."

My voice had come out quiet and low.

"What do you mean?" asked the younger sister, the wind blowing into her dark red hair.

My voice got even quieter and lower, if that's possible, as I whispered the fateful words.

"You're…you're a witch."

She looked hurt and haughty.

"_That's_ not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"

She began to stalk towards her sister.

I ran after her.

"No wait!"

They stood there, surveying me, holding tight to the swing poles as though they were protection.

"You _are. _You are a witch. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one and I'm a wizard."

The elder sister laughed, high and cold, and threw back her dirty blonde hair.

"Wizard! I know who you are! You're that Snape boy! You live down by Spinner's End!"

It was like an accusation. She stared at me, repulsed. She continued.

"Why have you been spying on us?"

"Haven't been spying," I muttered, "wouldn't spy on _you _anyway. _You're_ a Muggle."

What made me say that spiteful addition to my sentence? Didn't I know that it would upset the younger one whom I had been watching for months? And even if they did not know what a Muggle was, could anyone be so thick as to mistake my tone?

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" the elder sister shrilled to the younger, who apparently was called Lily.

Lily followed immediately, glaring as she left. I was left alone in the playground moments later, alone with my thoughts. How could it have gone so wrong? I had planned this meeting for months and months, and all I did was make them hate me. Had I just destroyed my last chance for friendship with Lily?

**Petunia**

"Mummy!" I called out.

"Yes, Petunia?"

"Mummy, we were at the park and that weirdo Sev Snape came out and he had seen Lily doing that thing with the flowers and he called her a witch and said his mum was a witch and that he was a wizard and he also called me a Muggle and he said he has been spying on us for a long time and he jumped out and scared us and he is so gross he looks like a bat when he runs and he is strange!" I burst in one breath.

"What's a Muggle, dear?"

"How was I supposed to know? He's creepy!"

"But Mummy," Lily said, "He doesn't have friends and you know how we can hear his parents arguing all the way from here. Can I go play with him tomorrow?"

Of course, Lily, the angelic goody kid, had to make a case for him and my mum fell for it and said, predictably, oh so predictably,

"Sure, sweetie. If you think that that is a safe thing to do."

"Thanks, Mum."

And then she skittered off.

"Why anyone would want to play with someone who called them a witch is beyond me," I grumbled aloud. In my mind I said, 'How crazy can Lily get?'

"Now, Tuney, if you think that Lily shouldn't play with this boy, keep it to yourself. She's just trying to help this poor kid who has terrible parents. You know how cruel Eileen and Tobias Snape are."

I sighed, and trudged up to my room. If it had been me who had pleaded to go to play, my mother would have declared she wouldn't think of it. But if Lily asked, it was 'Sure, sweetie.' And Mother didn't even punish Lily for doing the strange flower trick. As I went into my room, Lily was there, jumping around.

"What's with you?" I growled.

"I could say the same!" she retorted, "I am just excited for tomorrow!"

"Why?" I asked, surprised out of my anger at Severus Snape.

"Never mind."

She promptly pretended to fall asleep. My exasperation ended and I got ready for bed, then fell asleep almost the second my head hit the pillow.

**Severus**

I woke up that morning feeling terrible. The events of the previous day had just hit me in full force, and to make matters worse, my parents had an enormous fight. They didn't stop for hours. I sat in the corner, my head on my knees, sobbing. However, they didn't seem to even notice. I felt hopeless and lonely. Suddenly, something startled me. A loud bang, like a hand on a log.

"Get it, Sev!" my mother snapped.

I walked slowly to the door, my feet dragging. Who would want to come here, in a lonely corner of Spinner's End? As I grew closer to the door, whoever it was knocked again. I summoned every ounce of courage, and opened the door.

I had never had a bigger shock in my life.

In front of me was the dark red hair and green eyes of Lily Evans.

"Hi!" she said, "will you play with me?"

"S-s-sure."

"Good! Come on, we can play in the woods behind my house!" she turned around and gestured for me to follow her.

I was stunned. But I went with her anyway.

"What did you mean, I am a witch?" she asked once we reached the forest.

"What did I mean, uh, it doesn't mean you are creepy or evil or anything!" I protested, "It only means you are a female wizard."

" Wizard? Really?" excitement gleamed in her eyes.

"Yeah. It's like a whole separate world. We call humans Muggles. There are dementors, too. There's a school called Hogwarts and a Ministry of Magic, and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside of school, you get letters," I replied.

"But I have done magic outside of school!"

"We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you are a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," I nodded to emphasize the importance of what would come, "and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

She was silent for a minute. Lily then picked up a small twig and twirled it around. She must have been imagining multicolored sparkles shooting from it. Suddenly she dropped the twig.

"It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke, right? Tuney says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It _is _real, isn't it?" she asked, leaning towards me.

"It's real for us. Not for her, she's a human. But we'll get the letter, you and I," I said, sprawled out on the ground, full of confidence in my destiny.

"Really?" Lily whispered.

"Definitely," I assured her.

"And will it really come by owl?" she whispered again.

"Normally. But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents about our world," I explained.

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" Lily asked.

I hesitated for a moment. My eyes ran over her pale face, her deep red hair, her bright green eyes.

"No," I said, "it makes no difference at all."

"Good," she said, every line of her figure relaxing. It was quite obvious that she had been worrying.

"You have loads of magic. I saw that. All the time I was watching you…." My voice trailed off. I began tearing leaves into tiny bits, barely conscious of what I was doing. I was actually quite glad that she was not looking at me, because I am sure my face showed signs of greed, as it did when I watched her at the playground.

"How are things at your house?" Lily asked, turning to face me.

My forehead creased.

"Fine."

"They're not fighting anymore?" she asked hopefully.

I felt my face grow hot. I didn't know that anyone knew about my parents arguing.

"They're still fighting. But it won't be too long and I'll be gone."

I began tearing leaves again.

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

I flushed again.

"He doesn't like anything, much," I replied.

"Severus?" she asked.

I felt a strange little smile twist my face as she said my name.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me more about the dementors," she said.

"Whaddaya wanna know about them for?" I asked, shocked.

"If I do magic outside of school…" she started, looking a little scared.

"They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad things. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You won't end up in Azkaban, you're too…"

I blushed, and shredded even more leaves.

I heard a small rustling noise, and turned quickly. I saw Lily's sister, who I learned was called Petunia.

"Tuney!" Lily jumped up, looking, surprised, yet welcoming.

I was quite angry that she pulled the same trick I did which she had so resented.

"Who's spying now?" I said, angry, "what do you want?"

Her face showed alarm at being caught, and she seemed to be trying to think of something that would hurt me.

"What's that you're wearing anyway? Your mum's blouse?" Petunia said.

I felt my face burn for the third time today. I got even angrier and suddenly, a small branch fell upon Petunia. She staggered back several paces and burst into tears. Then she ran off.

"You did that! You hurt her!" Lily accused.

"No, no I didn't!"

But my lie did not convince her. I did not mean to hurt Petunia, but I couldn't control when magic came out of me, when my emotions became that strong.

She gave me a burning look and ran from the forest, off after Petunia, leaving me alone, hurt and confused.

**Lily**

"I told you so! Lily, you shouldn't have gone to play with that freak!" Petunia burst.

"But…" I started.

"What's going on girls?" my mother said, as we entered the house.

"Nothing," I cut in over Petunia. Then I ran into my room.

I sat alone on my bed, surprised and hurt. I had welcomed Petunia, yet she blamed me for being found and insulted Severus, who was helping me understand who I am. She was my only sister, after all. But over the past year, she had become, different. Not unkind, but somewhat resentful at the strange things I did. Before, she had always accepted my strange tricks, and she had been kind and careful, and watching out for me. What had happened? What had changed?

I decided that even if Sev had made the branch fall, it wasn't on purpose. What was it he said? 'They let you off when you're a kid and you can't control it.' He wouldn't have tried to hurt my sister, not after we were getting along so well. I decided to go back the next day, and see if I could talk to him again.

That night, I did not talk to Petunia, and she made no attempt to talk to me, but simply glared at me all through dinner.

The next morning, I woke up to find Petunia had already left the room. I went downstairs to find out why she had left so early. When I got into the kitchen, she was not there either. But my mother was there, so I decided to ask the question.

"Mum?"

"Yes Lily?" but she was not paying much attention.

"May I go play with Severus today?"

"Sure, dear."

"Bye!" I called as I ran out the door.

I jogged down the lane towards Spinner's End. Once I reached the bedraggled house that was Sev's, I stopped. I had never studied his place before. The entire thing sagged, like there was nothing for it to live for in the whole world. The roof drooped and was dirty, and the door knocker was crooked and rusty. I walked up and knocked.

The door opened.

"Hello?" Severus asked, "Oh it's you! I was afraid you wouldn't come back, you know, after yesterday."

There was a short awkward silence.

"That's ok. I figured that you couldn't control it. That's what you said yesterday, anyway."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to come over to my house?" I asked.

"Yes!" his eyes gleamed with happiness.

"Then come on!" I said.

Once we reached my house, I realized what a contrast this would be to Sev as compared to his house. My home was all right angles, with flowers out front, and painted a soft buttery yellow.

"Mum!" I yelled, "Severus is here!"

"Wonderful! You two can test my latest batch of scones!" she replied.

Sev's eyes grew wide.

We walked into the kitchen. The smell was delicious. We dug in.

"These are delicious, Mrs. Evans!" he said.

"You can take some with you when you leave," I offered, "can't he, Mum?

"Of course!"

We walked up the stairs to mine and Petunia's room. I could tell that Severus was drinking in all the color, cleanliness, and light. He suddenly broke the silence.

"I haven't eaten like that in months.''

"Really?" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah. My mum's not such a great cook, see, so when they stop arguing long enough for her to cook, it's never that good. But maybe I'll be able to convince her to use a Gemino curse on those scones."

"Why would you want to curse a scone? And what is Gemino?" I asked, confused.

"The Gemino curse makes things double every time you touch it," he explained, "so then we will have hundreds of scones!"

"Does it work on Muggle things?" I asked curiously.

"Ye- whoa!"

"What?"

"Listen to you, calling human things Muggle like the witch you are!" he said happily.

I smiled.

"What's this?" Sev asked me.

"What's what?"

"This. It says it's from Professor Dumbledore, you know, at Hogwarts."

I scanned the letter quickly. Severus suddenly gasped.

"She asked Dumbledore if he would take her. As a student," he whispered hollowly.

"Really?" I continued reading.

"What I want to know is how she managed to contact Hogwarts without an owl. There must be wizards working undercover in Muggle postal service."

"Wow!"

"I'd better go now," he said reluctantly.

"Here, let me get the scones for you."

"Ok."

After I gave him the scones, he left and for the first time that day, I saw Petunia.

"What did you mean, inviting that creep over here?"

"I-"

"Oh be quiet! It just has to be all wizards together, doesn't it?"

"No! Tuney, wait!"

But she had already left the room.

**So...what did you think? Please R&R!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey. Thank you for reading! Anyway...on with the story!**

Chapter 2

**Petunia**

Later that week, a man in strange deep green robes, with long white hair and blazing blue eyes behind half-moon glasses knocked on our door.

"Hello," he said pleasantly, "is this the home of Lily Evans?"

"Yes," I said, "but she's not here right now."

This did not seem to surprise him in the least.

"That's all right. I am Albus Dumbledore, and you must be Petunia. Where is Lily right now?"

"Out in the woods with Severus Snape who lives down the road," I said, relaxing a bit. I was worried that he might mention my letter to Hogwarts.

"Wonderful! Could you call them in, please?"

"Sure. Just let me tell my mum you're here. You can come in," I added.

I yelled to mum and then went outside to find Lily and Severus.

As soon as I approached them, Severus jumped up.

"Funblemsmore?" he said breathlessly.

"What?"

"Dumbledore! Is that why you came to come get us?" he explained.

"How did you know?" I asked him.

"Never mind. Come on, Lily!" he said, pulling her to her feet. They began racing back to the house.

I followed, slowly. Once we were back at the house, my parents were deep in conversation with Dumbledore.

"Oh, hello, Lily, Severus, Petunia," my mother said, "have a seat."

"I've just finished explaining most things about Hogwarts to your parents, Lily," Dumbledore said, "Severus, I trust that you have told Lily everything?"

"Yes Professor Dumbledore," Severus replied.

"Good. Then it's settled? You'll take Lily to Platform 9, and then run your cart through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Understand?"

"Yes," my parents said simultaneously.

"Then Lily will board the Hogwarts Express and you'll see her on the Christmas Holidays."

I was feeling quite left out of this discussion until Lily said,

"What about Petunia?"

"She can come! We'll make it a family excursion!" my mum said.

I seethed rage. Did they think I would want to come to a place where Lily was the star yet again? To a place where everything would be about Lily? And I had to wonder, would anyone have thought of me if Lily hadn't brought me up?

**Lily**

About a week had passed when the big day arrived. I had been to Diagon Alley to buy all my materials and then we were ready to board the train. I was pulsing with excitement. Finally I would be at the Hogwarts that Sev had told me so much about! Once we made it to Platform 9, we ran through the barrier, which looked like a normal wall, but if you ran straight into it, you would end up on another platform, quite unlike any other. For one thing, the sign read 'Platform 9 ¾' and for another, children were running around pushing carts loaded with cauldrons, owls, cats, frogs, and books. I was so thrilled that I was about to faint. Just a day ago, I had gone to Ollivander's and there, a wand chose me. My wand was birch and unicorn tail hair.

My parents were watching all over the place, inhaling the feel of the magical world. As I looked around, I saw Sev, standing next to his mother. And as I turned to my right, Petunia was glaring at me, looking full of jealousy.

"Tuney, listen. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Listen!" I reached out and grasped her hand, so that she could not move away. As I suspected, she tried to tug away, "Maybe once I'm there, no listen Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him to change his mind about not letting you come!"

"I don't – want - to – go!" she gasped out, accenting every word with an attempt to pull her hand away, "Do you think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a –"

I watched as her pale blue eyes scrolled over Platform 9 and ¾, at the owls, wands, and cats squirming around in their owners' arms, several of whom had already put on their long black school robes, at the old-fashioned scarlet steam engine and continued.

"– you think I want to be a – a freak?"

My eyes burned with tears as Petunia pulled her hand away and clutched it to her so I could not keep her there.

"I'm not a freak. That's a terrible thing to say."

"That's where you're going. A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy, weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good that you're being separated from normal people. It's for all our safety."

I'm not sure, but it felt like she relished saying those words. I burned with a strong desire to fight back, so I did with the only weapon I had. But first I glanced in my parents' direction to make sure they weren't listening. Then I began to speak, my voice coming out low and fierce.

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."

I hit the mark. She turned a fiery shade of scarlet so that she was almost redder than the Hogwarts Express.

"Beg? I didn't beg!" she protested.

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read – that was my private – how could you?" Petunia protested.

I glanced quickly towards Sev, and the second I did it I regretted it, for I realized I had given myself away. Petunia gasped loudly.

"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my things!"

"No, not sneaking! Severus saw the envelope and he couldn't believe that a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts is all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the post office…"

"Well apparently wizards poke their noses everywhere!" Petunia flounced. "_Freak!_" she spat as she turned and walked over to our parents.

**Severus**

Once I we got on the Hogwarts Express, I began to look for Lily after I changed into my Hogwarts robes. I found her hunched in a corner in a compartment with two boys, who were paying no attention to her. She turned and looked at me and I saw that she had been crying.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a strangled voice.

"Why not?"

"T-tuney hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

She glared at me.

"She's my sister!"

"She's only a –. " I stopped myself. Thankfully, Lily did not hear me. I continued, "But this is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Despite her tears, she managed a half smile.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," I said, encouraged that she had brightened a bit.

"Slytherin?" one of the boys in the compartment asked, "who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

His friend didn't smile. I noticed that the one who had spoken had black hair that wouldn't seem to lay flat.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," his friend replied. He had an air of richness and easy grace.

"Blimey! And I thought you seemed all right!" the black-haired one laughed.

His friend smiled then, "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you going, if you've got the choice?"

The black-haired one lifted an invisible sword, "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

I tried to restrain myself, but I couldn't stop myself from making a small disparaging noise.

"Got a problem with that?" asked the black-haired one.

"No," I said, though my slight sneer would say otherwise, "but if you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

"Where are you going, seeing as you're neither?" the rich one cut in.

They both roared with laughter. Lily flushed angrily.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment," she said haughtily.

"Oooooooooooo," the boys chanted, imitating her lofty voice. As we left, the black haired one made an attempt to trip me with his leg.

As we left, I heard one of them call after us,

"See ya, Snivellus!"

**Lily**

Once we got off the train, we were ushered towards a large man.

"'Ello, firs' years! Over 'ere. Get in the boats, four to a boat."

I stepped into a boat. Severus followed me, and two other boys got in. One was short and watery eyed. The other one was medium height, with dark thick hair and shabby looking robes.

I leaned over the edge of the boat, my hand rippling the water.

"'Ey, you there. Ya wan to be careful, there. The squid migh' want to push yer hand back in the boat," the eight foot man gestured to me.

Once we reached the castle, my heart was pounding in my chest. Now we would be Sorted! We all walked into a large room, where we stood on a flight of stairs. A tall young woman with her hair in a loose bun came out.

"Hello, students. I am Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher. You will be Sorted, and then go to the table of your House. The Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw."

Professor McGonagall looked as if she was barely over 20 years old, and her voice was quiet and soft.

"All right, go on in."

She opened the doors, and I was amazed. The ceiling was the sky! And below were four tables, full of people, eyeing us with interest. Professor Dumbledore gestured for us to stand in the front.

"Once I call your name, go and sit on the stool. The Sorting Hat," Professor McGonagall pointed at a bedraggled pointy hat upon a stool, "will put you in your house. While you are here, your house is your family. So remember it."

The older kids laughed. I heard a Slytherin boy snicker,

"Who could forget their house?"

"Quiet!" said McGonagall.

The Sorting Hat's top suddenly separated from the brim, creating a giant gash. I fought down the urge to gasp. Then the gash opened further, and the hat began to sing:

Once upon a night so fair

There were four wizards, united

Gryffindor and Slytherin, the loyal pair

and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

United for a common cause,

to teach the wizard world.

However, there were a few flaws

They disagreed after not to long.

Slytherin wished to educate those

of purest blood, and cunning, like him.

Gryffindor, however, chose

the brave, the bold, no matter their birth.

Ravenclaw said she would take

those who used their mind to the full.

And sweet Hufflepuff said she would make

wizards out of anyone.

Slytherin left after a large fight,

never to return,

and since that lonely twilight,

four founders there was not.

The three left kept his mark here,

a remembrance of their friend,

and they shed many a tear,

over what they might have been.

I, their invention, to separate you all

have wondered, if I did not,

would there have been the brawl

that prompted Slytherin to go?

But the four founders fair,

made me to divide you

for students their name to bear

and I still do my duty,

and now,

Let the Sorting begin!

Professor McGonagall then began to call peoples' names.

"Acco, Bryce!"

A boy sat upon the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat upon his head. The hat then yelled out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheered.

"Andrews, Martha!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Avery, Wrandall!"

The boy who walked up had a sneer permanently etched on his face. He looked at all the tables except for Slytherin with an air of disgust.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Narcissa!"

The girl looked like she could be pretty, but her hair was pulled back so tight, and she stood so straight I felt bad for her.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Sirius!"

One of the boys from the train got up and went over to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Chai, Anastasia!"

A pale girl walked up to the stool. She looked slightly sour.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Clark, John!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"D'Loncroix, Rachelle!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Dare, Stacey!"

A brown haired girl walked up to the stool. As the hat was put on her head, she smiled flirtatiously at the black haired boy with glasses from the train.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"de Mandal, Francesca!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Evans, Lily!"

I felt butterflies fly around in my chest. This was it! As I went over to the stool, Professor McGonagall put the hat upon my head. To my great surprise, it hesitated a bit. It seemed to be…thinking. Then to my surprise, it spoke,

"Ah, Lily Evans. Brave, hardworking, smart, cunning. All the houses in one. Where to put you?"

I didn't know what to do, so I sort of whispered back to it,

"My best friend wants us to be in Slytherin…"

"No, you are certainly cunning enough, but if I were to put you there, you would regret it forever. You're not a Hufflepuff. Should it be Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw?"

For a second I thought it wouldn't place me anywhere at all. But in a second it called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I walked over to the Gryffindor table. A boy scooted over to make a place for me, but as he turned, I realized he was Sirius Black, the boy from the train. I tossed my hair, gave a sad little glance to Sev, and sat down with my back to Sirius.

"Flick, Lance!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Godrik, Bernard!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Jannet, Valerie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Kirke, Daniel!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Longbottom, Frank!"

The round faced boy looked slightly nervous. What could he be afraid of? He shrunk back on the stool when the hat was put on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He breathed out a great breath, changing instantly from worry to relief. I couldn't help smiling as he walked, grinning to the Gryffindor table.

"Lupin, Remus!"

I recognized the shabby looking boy who rode in the boat with me and Severus. He looked a bit ill.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He seemed nice enough, so I scooted over to make a place for him.

"MacDonald, Mary!"

A girl with watery eyes, pale mousy hair, and blue eyes went up to the stool. She looked like she would rather die than be sorted in front of all these people.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"McKinnon, Roger!"

A boy walked up eagerly. He seemed to be practically dying of pure, unfiltered excitement.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Mulciber, Thimiscar!"

This boy had a mean glare on his face. He spat something at me as he walked by, but I didn't quite catch it.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Nichols, Henry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Paisley, Margot!"

A disdainful-looking girl stalked up to the chair, her snubbed nose pointed in the air.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Pauls, Emma!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

I noticed that he was the watery-eyed short boy from the boat. He looked even more scared than the Mary MacDonald girl.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I had to wonder. This boy didn't seem brave, or courageous, or whatever Gryffindors are supposed to be. Then again, I'm not that brave either…

"Pigsworth, Bill!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Potter, James!"

The skinny black haired boy with glasses who had laughed at Severus went up to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I groaned inwardly.

"Ranson, Jane!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Shafer, Mariamne!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Smith, Natalie!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Snape, Severus!

Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, I thought in my mind, Please, please, please, be Gryffindor!

"SLYTHERIN!"

I felt my stomach fall to my feet. I watched bitterly as Sev walked away, towards the Slytherin table, where a blond boy who looked about 15 patted him on the back. He glanced at me, sadly.

"Stewart, Alice!"

A pretty dirty blonde girl with a nice smile and a slightly pointed chin walked up, not too confident…but not too scared either. She looked happily at the sea of faces.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Taft, Eithne!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Tarrow, Sam!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Veriz, Kate!"

A girl with wavy blonde hair walked up to the stool. I wished I had been as confident as she seemed to be.

"SLYTHERIN!"

She looked slightly disappointed, but satisfied all the same.

"Wendell, Sarah!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Williams, Paul!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Wilson, Alexander!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Yosi, Nathan!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Yu, Amira!"

As she sat up on the chair, Amira didn't look at the sea of faces at all. She had purplish red hair that went just below her shoulders.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Zamos, Ysabel!"

Ysabel walked up to the stool like she knew what she was going to be Sorted as. Before the Sorting started, I had heard her whisper to Kate Veriz that she was going to be in Slytherin. Sure enough, the hat called out,

"SLYTHERIN!" just a second after the hat touched her head.

She smiled at Kate, and they resumed their whispering as soon as Ysabel sat down.

"Zar, Oliver!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"That concludes the Sorting," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

Professor Dumbledore rose. I prepared myself for a speech. But to my surprise, he only said,

"I don't want to delay you any further, tuck in!"

All the students laughed and food suddenly appeared on the four long tables. But it was food as I had never seen it before. There were brightly colored stews, and strange tarts and pies. I didn't really know what to do, but Sirius Black said,

"Take some!"

I helped myself to some of the food, and wasn't surprised to find that it was delicious. After about half an hour of feasting, Professor Dumbledore rose again.

"First years, follow the prefects into your common room. Gryffindors, your Head of House is Elysa Brandon, who teaches Care of Magical Creatures. Slytherins, your Head of House is Professor Horace Slughorn, who teaches Potions. Hufflepuffs, your Head of House is Professor Ponoma Sprout, who teaches Herbology. Ravenclaws, your Head of House is Professor Filius Flitwick, who teaches Charms. Now, off you go!"

I followed a tall fifth year boy and the rest of the Gryffindors out the door. We went to the stairs, and once I was about halfway up the stairs, the stairs moved sideways! I slipped and fell as the stairs continued to move to the left. I reached out and tried to grab the stair rail, but my hand didn't catch a stair rail. It caught a human hand. I looked up to see James Potter. I stood up and pulled my hand away.

Once we got past the stairs, we reached a portrait of a large woman in a frilly pink dress. The tall fifth year addressed us once we all were all collected around the portrait.

"This is the Fat Lady, first years! The password is bumblebrook. When you say the password, the Fat Lady will swing open, and you can enter the Gryffindor common room. Bumblebrook!" the fifth year said.

The lady's portrait swung open to reveal a large, spacious room with comfy red armchairs with gold trim. In the far back corner, there was a flight of stairs that split to go in two opposite directions. Someone had artfully draped scarlet and gold tapestries with a lion on them all over the room. There were dark mahogany tables and a roaring fire in the hearth. The entire room gave an atmosphere of richness and comfort.

"The girl's dormitory is up the stairs and to the right. The boy's is up the stairs and to the left. Girls, you are permitted to enter the boy's dormitories, but you boys are not allowed to enter the girl's dormitories. Now, off you go," the fifth year said, quoting Dumbledore.

I walked up the right stairs and into a large circular room, filled with large queen sized beds. I realized that I was supposed to choose a bed to sleep in. I crossed over the room and chose a bed by the window. The bed had long crimson and golden silk curtains, a soft red satin bed cover, and fluffy white pillows. To top it all off, there was a small side table with a plate of cookies. As I looked out the window, I saw a dark lake, a large forest, and spacious grounds. As I was about to think over what my new life would be like, I had an irresistible urge to climb into the bed. I consented, and was asleep before my head hit the downy light cushion.

**Sirius**

When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to see James looming over me.

"Wake up you sleepy head!" he whispered, "today we get our schedules!"

"So?" I nodded groggily.

"Our schedules! What classes we have!"

"Oh," I realized.

"Remember that girl from the train?" he asked.

"The one who hung out with the bat kid?" I replied.

"Yes. He's a creepy bloke, her friend. Talking on about Slytherin, what a git! Nasty guy, on the whole. But, anyway, what did you think of her?"

"She was pretty and proud."

"Yes, what was her name again?"

"Lily Evans," I answered, "and her friend is Snivellus. She's the good, and he's the bad _and_ the ugly."

"Exactly. Now, let's go get the schedules."

After we ate breakfast, Lily glaring at us sadly all the way through, we finally received our schedules.

"Potions with the Slytherins, taught by Professor Slughorn; Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, taught by Professor McGonagall; Defense against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, taught by Professor Florean; Charms with the Hufflepuffs, taught by Professor Flitwick; Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins, taught by Professor Brandon; Flying with Madame Hooch; History of Magic with the Ravenclaws, taught by Professor Binns; and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, taught by Professor Sprout. Oh, man, we have so many classes with those stinkin' Slytherin people. Now Snivelly will take Lily all for himself," James said, frustrated.

"Yeah, Potter and Evans, the newest couple at the Christmas Ball! I can see it now," I joked.

"Well, off to Potions then. Who do you think we will sit with?"

"Dunno, I'm not psychic like Professor Tranberg," I replied.

"Professor who?"

"Tranberg. Teaches Divination. Saw it on a third year's schedule."

We started walking down the hallways towards the dungeons where Potions class was held. Lily pushed past us excitedly about halfway through.

"What's she so happy about?" James asked me.

"Probably going to see her best friend Snivellus. Hopefully she'll be with us, not him."

Once we got to the classroom, a large man said,

"Welcome to class, boys! Who would you be?"

"I'm James Potter and this is Sirius Black."

"Ah, yes. You will be sitting at this table with Lily Evans, Severus Snape, Kate Veriz, and Ysabel Zamos."

Every other person at our table was already there. Kate Veriz, I remembered, was a Slytherin, but I almost forgot the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry as I looked at her. She had long, honey-blonde hair, and deep blue-green eyes. Her friend, Ysabel, was nice-looking, but next to Kate… Ysabel had brown-black hair, and black eyes. They were deep in conversation when we sat down, but they both stopped to survey us with interest. Neither Lily nor Snivelly paid any attention to us.

"All right, students!" Slughorn clapped, "Welcome to Potions! Today, we will be creating a Draught of Peace. As you make it according to your books, I would wish you to write down the instructions in your own words, with your seatmates."

Snivellus scowled at us. I was surprised to see Kate and Ysabel scowling back at him.

"All right, begin!"

**Kate**

As the Gryffindor girl and Snape went to get our materials, I leaned over and whispered to the Gryffindor boys,

"Who wants a chance to totally humiliate Snape?"

"Who?" the handsome one asked.

"Severus Snape."

"Oh, Snivellus?" the black haired one said.

Ysabel snickered,

"Snivellus! That's great! I'm Ysabel, by the way."

"I'm Kate," I said.

"I'm Sirius and this is James," the handsome one said.

"So what's the plan?" James asked excitedly.

As I whispered it to James and Sirius, Ysabel giggled all the way through, raising the suspense of the daring thing we were going to do. James whispered back to me to not do it to Lily though. In a few seconds the Gryffindor girl and Snivellus were back with all our materials.

"All right," James said, taking charge, "me, Kate, Sirius and Ysabel will write the instructions and you two can brew the potion. Ok, here are the books."

Lily and Snivellus began to make the potion. Considering that Sirius had told me that he had heard a rumor that Lily was a Muggle-born, they did extremely well. Lily seemed to have a natural flair for Potions. As Professor Slughorn came around, he complimented us. Now was the time to set the plan into action. I picked up a new piece of parchment and wrote,

'Step 1: Snivellus Snape would not recognize a wizard if it rammed into him on a street.'

I handed the parchment to Ysabelle and she scribbled down,

'Step 2: Snivellus does not deserve to be at Hogwarts.'

Sirius wrote,

"Step 3: Snivelly is a Squib.'

James-

"Step 4: Snivelly is a _Mudblood!_"

My turn again-

"Step 5: Snivellus Snape is an arrogant airhead."

Ysabel-

"Step 6: Snivellus will never get anywhere in life."

Sirius-

"Step 7: Snivels is a dirt-brained scum-piece."

James-

"Step 8: Snivelly is a half-breed."

Me-

"Step 9: Snivellus is armadillo bile."

Ysabel-

"Step 10: Snivel deserves nothing better than to be ground to bits underneath the feet of the lowest of the low."

Sirius mouthed to me, 'let's give it to him.'

James handed the parchment to Sev. He said,

"Your turn to add a step."

As I saw him read the parchment, he blushed horribly. We had completed the mission. The Gryffindor girl read the paper, and looked quite angry, but somehow satisfied.

"Well, if that's your set of rules, I'm sure you will all get a fabulous grade on this assignment," she said, raising her nose in the air, and a haughty look in her eye.

"Well thank goodness that we have another set," I quipped icily.

Ysabel smiled smugly.

James leaned over and whispered to me,

"Stop it, Kate. Don't bully Lily."

"Fine," I hissed back and nudged Ysabel.

"Alright, everyone, I am going to collect your instructions. _Accio_!"

I made an instinctive move to clutch the fake instructions. The real rules flew towards Slughorn and everyone else's did as well.

"Class dismissed!"

"Bye, Kate!" Sirius called.

As I turned around to wave I noticed Lily giving Snivelly a quick embrace before turning and racing towards the door.

**Love it? Despise it? Like it? Hate it so much you wanna throw your computer in the trash? just kidding. but tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Me again. I'm not JK Rowling...so on with the story!**

Chapter 3

**Lily**

As I walked off towards Transfiguration class, I was suddenly nudged.

"Hey," James said, "where are you going next?"

"Where do you think? We have all our classes together, seeing the serious misfortune that we are both Gryffindors," I said scathingly. I then sped up and pushed past him.

"Hey, Evans!" he called as he caught up to me.

"As we are not friends or even acquaintances, I do not wish you to address me like that," I said scornfully and made another attempt to get past him. He jumped in front of me.

"Hey, Evans, listen, I'm sorry about Snivelly, Ok?"

"Snivelly? I don't know anyone by the name of Snivelly."

"Severus, ok?"

"Oh, well then you're wasting your breath. I don't forgive you," and I finally succeeded at getting past James.

Once I reached the Transfiguration classroom, Professor McGonagall said,

"Oh, hello, Lily. You will be sitting right at this table, with Remus Lupin and James Potter."

I sighed and went over to my seat. There I found that Remus Lupin was the shabby boy from the boats and that James (thank goodness!) was not here yet.

"Hello," Remus said pleasantly, "I'm Remus Lupin, and I'm a Gryffindor."

"I'm a Gryffindor too. I'm Lily Evans."

"Oh, yeah. I recognize you from the Sorting."

"You were in my boat when we rowed up to the castle."

"Right! You were with a black haired boy, weren't you?"

"Yes. He is my friend, Severus Snape."

At this moment James walked in and sat down.

"Pull out your books, class. Today we will learn Switching Spells. Here is how you do it."

After Professor McGonagall demonstrated how to do it, she instructed us to switch the feet of a frog and flowers. As we tried for a while, suddenly both mine and Remus's frogs' legs burst into bloom. Just seconds after we did it, James's, Sirius's and a Ravenclaw girl's did as well.

"Excellent, class. Everyone except Miss Evans, Miss Smith, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin, practice for homework. Class dismissed!" McGonagall called out.

I ran out of the classroom so as to avoid James. As I glanced at my schedule, I smiled. Next was Defense against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins. I would be with Severus!

Once I reached the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, I was greeted by an elderly woman who immediately burst into a smile when she saw me.

"Hello, sweetie! I am Professor Florean. You may sit wherever you want. What's your name?"

"I'm Lily. Lily Evans."

"Excellent! Now find a seat!"

She was overly sweet and smiley, almost like we were all her long lost grandchildren. I turned and saw Sev gesturing me to come over. I sat down and gave him a quick hug.

"How was your last class?" he asked.

"So-so. I was best in the class, with James and Sirius and two other people. Professor McGonagall is pretty nice."

"Yeah. Professor Flitwick is good too."

"I have him next," I replied.

"Then I won't spoil the lesson for you. It was great though!"

Kate Veriz, Ysabel Zamos, Remus, Sirius, the short watery-eyed boy, and James all joined us.

"Welcome, everyone! I'm sure you all will be friends with each other by the end of this year," Professor Florean said.

All our tablemates except Remus, Severus and I snickered.

"I am new to the school this year, which is good, because it means everyone in this room has something in common! This year we will be learning how to fight those bad guys! The main one, is of course, You-Know-Who, and he has been at large, terrorizing our world. And – oh, what Miss Lily?"

"Who is You-Know-Who?" I asked. Everyone gasped.

"Well, um, your parents haven't told you?"

I shook my head no.

"Professor Florean - " Sev started.

"Don't interrupt your superiors, boy," she snapped, "Well, I totally understand, Lily. Overprotective parents, always-"

"Ma'am, Lil - " Sev tried again.

"Haven't I told you not to interrupt, Mr. Snape?"

"Yes, but,"

"Mr. Snape, that deserves detention! In my office tonight!"

Sev raised his hand.

"_Yes_, Mr. Snape?"

"Professor Florean, Lily is a Muggle-born, so she doesn't know who He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is."

"Why didn't you say so? I'm sorry, Lily. If Severus here wasn't so dim, well….anyway, You-Know-Who is," her voice dropped to a whisper, "_Lord Voldemort_."

It was as if she had dropped a bomb. Several girls screamed. One Slytherin girl choked on her water. A Gryffindor girl named Anastasia Chai passed out.

"SNAPE! You and Lily run to the Hospital Wing and get Madame Pomfrey! James Potter, you go too!"

We stood there, frozen.

"Well don't just stand there! GO!"

She practically kicked us out the door. Apparently none of us were her favorite students. And, evidently, Anastasia was one of her favorites.

"So, where is the hospital wing?"

"I'll take you!" James said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along, ''stay here, Snivelly. We'll be right back."

"No! Let go of me!" I shrieked.

Sev ran up and hit James squarely across the face.

"OUCH!"

"Let – go – of – her!" Sev said, every word accompanied by a slap.

"Why – OUCH – do – OUCH – you – OUCH – care!"

"What is going on here?" said Professor Dumbledore.

We all froze. I supposed it would have looked quite strange to him, seeing James clutching my hand, me in mid-shriek, and Sev with his hand raised for another slap.

"Perhaps you did not hear. What is going on, boys? What are you doing to Lily?"

"Well – " Sev started.

"No, that's not – " James interrupted.

"Maybe it would be better if Lily explained," Professor Dumbledore cut in.

I took a deep breath and began,

"Well, we were in Defense against the Dark Arts, and I asked who You-Know-Who was, and Professor Florean told me, and people screamed and a girl named Anastasia passed out and she sent us to get Madame Pomfrey. Then, I asked where the Hospital Wing was and James said he would take me and he told Sev to stay here, and then grabbed my hand and started pulling me along. I screamed 'Let go of me' and then Sev came and tried to help me and then James tried to pull me away from Sev,"

"That's not what happened," Sev said quietly.

"What do you mean, Severus?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"When Lily screamed, I went up and slapped James. And then I said 'Let go of her" while I was still slapping him and then when he didn't, I kept hitting him. And then you came."

"I see. Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you both detentions, Severus, James," he said sadly.

"I can't, sir," Sev said, his head hung in penitence.

"Why not?"

"Professor Florean gave me detention too."

"What on earth for?"

"Because I interrupted her when she was talking about You-Know-Who to try and explain that Lily was a Muggle-born, sir," he said, sounding ashamed.

"That does not deserve detention, Severus. I will speak to Professor Florean."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Now why were you all in the hall again?"

"To get Madame Pomfrey to help Anastasia Chai, who fainted, sir," I piped up.

"I will send her to the classroom. Now run along, you should get back to class. It is almost over."

Once we made it back to the classroom, Professor Florean smiled sweetly.

"Welcome back! Where is Madam Pomfrey? Anastasia has been out cold the entire time. What took you so long?"

"Well," I started.

"We met Professor Dumbledore," James said firmly.

"Well, then, we can excuse you then. Anyway, class is finished. Run along, Madame Pomfrey will attend to Anastasia. Lily, I would like you to explain to Professor Flitwick all about what happened to Anastasia, and tell him that under my authority she is excused. Go on, then!"

I rushed off. Once I entered the classroom, Professor Flitwick said,

"Oh yes, Professor Dumbledore told me about you. You are Lily Evans, right?"

Flitwick was a very short, very old man. He looked quite kind.

"Yes," I replied.

"Well you may go and sit by Mary McDonald and Emma Pauls."

I walked over, to find Mary to be a mousy-haired girl with pale eyes. She could have been the sister of the watery-eyed boy. Emma had black hair and eyes the color of amber tea.

"Hello," I said slowly.

"Welcome! You must be Lily Evans!" Emma said smilingly.

"All right everyone! Today we will be learning to cast levitation charms. The incantation is _Wingardium Leviosa_. You will move the wand in a swish, swish, flick motion. Your goal is to levitate the slip of parchment. Begin," Professor Flitwick directed.

Mary was doing it rather strangely.

"_wen-gord-um laiv-ee-ohs-summ_," she said, quite frustrated.

"_Win-gard-ee-um lev-ee-oh-sah_," I tried. Much to my surprise, the scrap of parchment rose into the air. I saw a girl I remembered as Margot Paisley glaring angrily at me.

"Excellent, Miss Evans! Everyone, notice the light airiness of Lily's parchment! Fabulous, Lily!" Professor Flitwick praised.

"Are you a pureblood?" a Hufflepuff boy named Daniel Kirke asked.

"No. I'm a Muggle-born, see," I replied.

"I would never have guessed!"

"Thanks, um, I think."

"Now, everyone, I would like a half a foot long essay about why this charm would be useful in normal life. Off to lunch, everyone!" Professor Flitwick directed.

I ran off like I did at the end of Transfiguration, and for the exact same reason. However, I was far more successful this time.

Once I made it to the Great Hall, the ceiling was much like it was on my first night here, except it was bright and sunny.

"Lily!" Sev called out.

I ran up and gave him a hug.

"Where are you sitting?" I asked him.

"At the Slytherin table. You must sit with your house. Professor Slughorn says that your house is your family while you're at Hogwarts."

"Oh," I said, my face falling.

"Why, don't you have friends in your House?" he asked, his face full of concern.

"Well, not really. I only just met Mary McDonald and Emma Pauls, in Charms, and the only other Gryffindors I know are Sirius Black, James Potter, and this other watery-eyed boy. My only sort of friend is Remus Lupin."

"Oh. Well, I'd better go. Meet me under the large oak by the lake, after lunch, ok?" he said, just before rushing off.

I went over and sat down by Remus. Much to my dismay, however, he was sitting with James, Sirius, and the pale, mousy-looking, watery-eyed boy, who he introduced as Peter Pettigrew.

I ate as quickly as I could. Then I rushed outside.

"Wait, Evans!" James called.

But I pretended not to have heard him.

**Severus**

We laid down on our backs underneath the tree, discussing our classes.

"So far my favorite class is Potions," Lily was saying.

"I really like it too. What did you think of Charms?" I asked.

"I quite enjoyed it! The levitation charm was not that hard, actually," she replied.

A leaf drifted down from the tree, and landed squarely on my nose. We both burst into uncontrollable fits of giggles.

"What do you have next?" I asked her.

"Care of Magical Creatures, with Professor Brandon. You?"

"Same! What do you think we will study?" I asked.

"I don't know. I started reading my book, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. It rates all creatures by X-Boring, XX-Harmless, XXX-Competent wizards are able to cope, XXXX-Dangerous, and XXXXX-Known Wizard Killer. I think we will probably be studying something X or XX. Don't you?"

"Yeah, probably."

In all truth I had no idea what she had just said. I felt something I did not know what to call, except it was like my soul had taken an aerial journey.

"Is something wrong, Sev?" Lily asked.

"What?"

"You looked quite strange for a second there. Are you all right?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine."

As I looked over, I saw James Potter and Sirius Black snickering about something.

"Let's go then! Come on!" she grasped my hand and began pulling me along.

She dragged me along, towards the edge of the forest.

"Welcome to the both of you!" Professor Brandon called. She was a merry-faced woman of about 35, who had a slight Irish accent.

"Now who would you be?" she continued.

"I'm Severus Snape, and this is Lily Evans. I'm a Slytherin and she's a Gryffindor."

"Excellent. Now just wait until everyone comes, then we'll begin the lesson."

We waited for about five minutes until everyone had arrived.

"Now, class. Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures. Behind me you can see the home of Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, who rowed you in the boats on your first night here. To my left you can see the Forbidden Forest. All students are forbidden from entering the forest, hence the name," Professor Brandon said.

Everyone laughed.

"Anyways, today we will be studying flobberworms. _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _classifies flobberworms as Class X. We will be nurturing these flobberworms, in other words, trying to feed them."

The lesson, predictably from flobberworms being Class X, was boring. Thankfully, Lily and I were partners, so that was a bit of saving grace. We laughed and turned everyone and everything into a joke. We had fun together until Professor Brandon told us to be quiet and feed our flobberworms, or she would put us both in detention. For the rest of the lesson, Lily shook with suppressed laughter. We managed to enjoy the time, even with the boring toothlessness of flobberworms.

**James**

"Well, off you go, students! Next class we will be studying Puffskeins, a Class XX beast. See you next time!" Professor Brandon ushered us away.

As soon as we were a sufficient distance away, I chuckled.

"Was that not the most boring thing you have ever done? I looked up flobberworms in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. Class X means boring," I told Sirius.

He roared with laughter.

"Boring is right! That was dull and tedious. They were so slimy and strange! I had no idea why Lily and Snivellus enjoyed the lesson so much. They were laughing the whole time,"

"Well, what do we have next?" I asked him.

"Flying, Madam Hooch. I'm really excited for it, aren't you?"

"Definitely! I am so excited to learn to fly so that next year I can try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team," I said.

"Well, we're here!"

"Welcome, boys!" said a tall woman with short gray hair and golden hawk-like eyes. She looked like someone you wouldn't want to cross.

"I am Madam Hooch. Stand next to a broom, please."

Once we had all filed ourselves next to a broom, Madam Hooch began to explain the class.

"Today we will be beginning to teach flying. We will be flying on broomsticks."

"No, really?" I whispered sarcastically to Sirius, "We would never fly on broomsticks, would we? Not when we are all standing next to them."

"Next year, you will be able to try out for a Quidditch team. So it is essential that you learn early. Now we will begin. Potter!" Madam Hooch suddenly snapped, "If you would stop talking to Black long enough to hear what I am saying, you might not get detention. Anyways, everyone! Stick out your hand and say, firmly, 'up!' You may begin."

We all said 'Up' as directed. My broomstick shot upward instantly.

"How'd you do that?" Sirius asked.

"Black! I would prefer it if you did not discuss things with Mr. Potter in my class!"

"Well, next time I will ask permission to talk," Sirius whispered to me, "Not!"

After quite a while of letting people try and get their brooms into their hands, Madam Hooch said that we could begin to try to fly. I was first up. She told the class to watch as I soared into the air.

"Potter, you are a natural. Now, your turn, Black."

Everyone got a chance to try and fly, but several people could not even get off the ground.

"All right, class dismissed!" Madam Hooch barked.

I waited back with Sirius for Lily. But when I made an attempt to talk to her, she pushed past me and ran forward.

"What is her problem?" I asked loudly. Several other people snickered.

"Tough luck, James," Sirius chuckled, "Maybe next time."

**Sirius**

As we sped off to History of Magic, James asked,

"Who teaches HoM? James asked.

"Professor Binns. When I asked some older students about the teachers, no one would tell me anything about him. Seemed to think it was a good joke. Well, personally, I don't see anything remotely funny about not telling us about a teacher."

"Yeah, that is strange. Well, I suppose we're in for it then. We don't know what he will tolerate, what he will punish, we don't know anything!" James raged.

"Yeah, and we had the goods on all the other professors too."

Once we reached the classroom, we were surprised to find that there was no Professor there. We sat down at a table with Peter Pettigrew, a boy we sat with at lunch, Remus, and the only one to look quite unhappy to be at our table, Lily.

"What on earth is going on?" Remus asked.

"Shhhh, he's coming!" Lily hissed.

"Who?" Peter asked.

"Professor Binns," she replied.

"How do you know how he's coming?" I challenged.

"A third year boy told me. Now be quiet, I want to see this."

Suddenly the front of the room got a bit hazy, and a strange-looking man walked through, and I mean _through_ the chalkboard. He was the most bizarre person I had ever seen.

His entire being was a translucent pearly-white, and he looked quite old. I'm sure me and James looked quite shocked, because Lily said,

"What, nobody told you Professor Binns was a ghost?"

"He's a _ghost_?" Peter asked, sounding quite timid.

"Welcome to class, students," said Professor Binns. His voice was one-noted, and dismal.

"One day he fell asleep in his desk chair, and he died in his sleep. But apparently he hasn't noticed," I heard Lily whisper to Remus, "He just left his body there and he kept on teaching."

Remus looked a little creeped out.

"Today we will be learning about the 1612 Goblin Rebellions," droned on Professor Binns, "They took place in Hogsmeade, which is that wizarding village over there."

The lesson went on for a long time. The only person paying any attention was Lily, who was taking down notes avidly. Of course, the rest of us had been taught about the 1612 Goblin rebellions since we were tots, so it must be new news to her, as a Muggle-born.

"Class dismissed," went on Professor Binns about an hour later, "you can go."

"Thank goodness that's over," I said to James, Remus, and Peter, "And I thought Care of Magical Creatures was boring! That was practically the worst thing I have ever done in the entire history of my life."

"I mean, who hasn't heard of the 1612 Goblin Rebellions, honestly? I mean, anyone who hasn't is a real dummy," James snickered.

"I hadn't heard of them before this," said Lily quietly as she pushed past me and James in her usual routine of getting away from us.

"You haven't?" James asked, stunned.

"No I have not," she said, turning around, her face mounting a dull flush.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lily," he said, looking quite ashamed.

"Like I said earlier today, you're wasting your breath, I don't forgive you," she said as she pushed past us a final time, but this time, her voice quivered as she ran away.

**Remus**

Once we reached the greenhouse where Herbology classes are held, we met Professor Sprout, a woman with short flyaway hair. I noticed Lily was already sitting at a table, and also that her eyes were quite red, as if she had been crying.

"Welcome, boys. Sit wherever you want," said Professor Sprout.

I saw James make a beeline for Lily. I followed him, along with Peter and Sirius. Once we sat down, Lily promptly put her head on the table and hid it with her hands.

"Oh, Lily, you're still not sad about what I said, are you? I'm really sorry," James said.

Lily lifted up her head, her green eyes blazing.

"You are arrogant enough to assume that the cause of my sadness was your stupid comment? You are so conceited as to think that? Well, let me tell you now, nothing you say will ever matter to me. You cannot hurt me, help me, or please me. Now I hope you will not be so proud as to think on those lines in the future."

With one final haughty look, she gathered up all her books and moved over to a table by herself.

Peter looked confused.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"Lily Evans," I supplied, as James still looked quite angry at Lily's speech.

"Oh."

Then class started. It went on for the normal time, except Professor Sprout was talking the whole time about what we would be doing this year. Once class was over, Lily ran out of the class towards the great hall. When we reached it, I noticed the ceiling was a light purplish-blue, reflecting the actual weather. There were also the beginnings of a luminous moon. I eyed it apprehensively. Moons are not my favorite thing. As soon as everyone had sat down, food appeared. We all dug in, except Lily, who picked and moved about her food the entire meal.

"Are you okay, Lily?" I asked, my voice full of concern.

"I'm fine," she said, though her face showed otherwise.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I just, don't have that many friends. Also, in the hallway on the way to Herbology, I heard some people whispering about how I was," she lowered her voice, "an ignorant Mudblood."

"No!" I said.

"That was why I was upset in Herbology. I was also frustrated about how James always thinks he is so important."

"Well, you have me and Severus as friends," I said comfortingly. At that moment, I was quite glad she had no idea what my secret was. For if she had, I doubt that what I was saying would have been anything remotely near comforting.

"Thanks, Remus," she said, slightly brightened.

"No problem," I said.

"I wasn't expecting to always be separated from Sev, you know. I was hoping to be with him more. He's my best friend," she said, as if she felt she had to explain her statement.

"I understand. He was the first of our kind you had ever met."

"Exactly! I had no idea that this world even existed until he explained all about it. I was starting to get really lonely in the Muggle world. My sister was beginning to stop being nice to me, also. I didn't have many friends at school, either," Lily continued.

"Oh, Lily, I never knew! I am so sorry," I said quickly.

"No, it's ok. I don't blame you. I don't blame anyone. It's just a bad situation. No one's fault," she finished.

Lily had barely touched her food. She didn't have seemed to have eaten anything.

"Will you be ok?" I asked.

"Um, yeah, I will be fine," she said, but her voice trembled.

"Why haven't you eaten anything?"

"I'm not hungry," Lily replied, "bye."

She gathered up her sack and left the table, with her head hanging.

"She'll starve herself to death!" James said.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"Lily barely ate anything at lunch, and she took barely two bites at dinner," he explained.

"Well, she's bound to eat tomorrow," I said.

James suddenly slapped his forehead. In response to our questioning looks, he began to speak.

"I have detention tomorrow! And also, to make things worse, I have it with Snivellus!"

"Well, I will see you later," Sirius and James picked up their things and left.

**Did you like it...or hate it? (praying by computer 'please let them like it, please let them like it, please let them like it'. just kidding) Anyway, please review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Welcome to my world, peoples! Anyway, here's the story:**

**PS. I'm not JK Rowling**

Chapter 4

**Lily**

The next morning I went down to the Great Hall to see the skies above a magnificent rosy pink. I walked over to Sev.

"Hello, Lily," he said, moodily stabbing a piece of egg with his fork.

"Are you all right, Sev?" I asked.

"I have detention with James."

"Oh."

"Hurry, Lily, before the prefects catch you at the Slytherin table. One of the prefects is quite cruel. Her name is Bellatrix Black. The boy one's not that nice either. Lucius Malfoy. Oh no, here comes Bellatrix! Go!" he ushered.

I ran off to the Gryffindor table. As I sat down, I saw Bellatrix scolding Sev.

The rest of the day went on almost exactly like the previous day. All the way up until Care of Magical Creatures we simply reviewed what we did the previous day. But once we got to CoMC we studied Puffskeins, which turned out to be fun and hilarious. They were little balls of fluff, which came in all different colors and sizes. One Puffskein became particularly attached to me and would not let anyone else feed it. It was a lime-green one, and it was the smallest one there. Me and the Puffskein liked each other so much, Professor Brandon said I could keep it, as it would be no use in any other classes. I was delighted and put him in a Puffskein-sized house next to my bed during passing period.

"What are you going to name it?" Emma Pauls asked as we walked towards Flying class.

"I don't know yet. There are a couple things I've considered. But I'm still not quite sure," I replied.

In Flying, we did only what we did yesterday. As I walked away from Flying class, I saw James run up to me and grab my elbow.

"Lily, I'm really sorry," he said, "Will you forgive me? It's time we become friends."

"Let – go – of – me!" I said, as I continued to try and move along. But he was far stronger than me and kept me in one place.

"Lily, honestly!"

"Haven't I told you! I don't forgive you! You are wasting both of our time. Now move away and let me pass," I said.

"Lily. I am sorry!"

"Listen, saying your sorry won't make me or Sev feel any better."

"Don't you dare drag him into this. He hates me more than I hate him! And I don't see you talking about this to you!" James raged.

"That is a matter between me and Sev. Now I would like you to move aside!" I said.

"What is going on here?" said Professor Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry, sir," said James, instantly dropping my elbow.

"James, Lily. Detention tomorrow night," said Professor Dumbledore sorrowfully, "Now go along to your next class."

I heard James slap his bag angrily as I ran along to History of Magic.

In HoM, I stopped paying attention the second Professor Binns said,

"Today we will continue to study the 1612 Goblin Rebellions."

I thought about what I would have to do for detention. I decided my best hope was to not be with James. Once HoM was over, I walked slowly along to Herbology.

In Herbology, Professor Sprout said we would be studying a plant called Devil's Snare.

"Devil's Snare is a vicious plant that has killing tendencies."

I saw Remus give a visible shudder.

"Devil's Snare hates heat and light. When you come in contact with it, it will begin to try and kill you by wrapping its vines all over you. The trick with it is to relax. If you do not, it will strangle you more quickly."

Several people trembled at that.

"This is Devil's Snare," said Professor Sprout, pointing to a large glass case.

Inside the case, there was a rotten-looking gray-green plant that twirled and curled about anxiously.

"Yes, Miss Chai?" Professor Sprout asked Anastasia, the girl who fainted yesterday. She had had her hand raised.

"Is it safe to study plants with such a high lethality level?"

"We won't be coming in contact with the Devil's Snare. Now everyone, open your notebooks and write what you observe about the Snare."

We took notes for the rest of the lesson. At the end, Professor Sprout told us to write a roll of parchment on Devil's Snare, to be handed in day after next.

I walked up to the Gryffindor common room to do my homework. I don't know exactly how, but I managed to evade James. When I got there, I sat down at one of the large tables. In about an hour, everyone else had gone up to bed. I spent about another twenty minutes finishing my essay, and then I walked up the stairs to my comfortable bed. I was surprised to see that the Puffskein had relocated itself so that it was curled up on my comfy pillow.

"Hello!" I said cheerily to it, "Having a good rest?"

It gurgled happily in response.

"You know, I think I'm going to name you Puff," I said to it.

It jumped up and down in contentment.

"You like it then?"

It almost seemed to nod.

**Severus**

As I walked up to Professor Dumbledore's office, I began to wonder what I would be doing for detention. Once I reached the great stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, I realized James was not there. However, my happiness ended momentarily. James arrived within seconds of me. He acknowledged my presence with a single, contemptuous look.

"Ah, you're here," said Dumbledore, "for detention, you will be scrubbing down the trophies in the Trophy Room."

James scowled.

"Without magic," Dumbledore added.

He led us to a large room, lined with metal trophies and plaques all over the wall.

"You may begin."

James and I began to scrub the trophies.

"Urghh," he said.

"What's with you?" I snapped.

"All this ridiculous manual labor. Growing up in a magical home, I've never had to stoop so low as to work like this. Although," he said ponderingly, "you're probably used to this. Your blood traitor mother, she probably has you do this all the time!"

"Be quiet!" I said.

"Why should I?"

"If you're so obsessed with people being of Muggle descent, I would wonder why you've set out to get Lily?"

"So you admit that you care?" he said tauntingly.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" I yelled.

"No."

His confident smirk seemed to egg me on.

"Also, I would check your own heritage. Personally, I would rather be a half-blood than to have ancestors who married their cousins," I said furiously.

This seemed to anger him.

"Listen, you stay out of whatever's between me and Evans, all right? I'm sure that you have similar-"

I cut him off heatedly.

"If you finish that sentence, you'll wish you had never been born!"

James smiled sinisterly.

"Would I? Do you mean that, Snivelly?"

I seethed with rage.

"You be quiet, James Potter!"

"I don't care what you say; you aren't the boss of me!"

"I don't claim to be!"

"Oh, really? Then why are you telling me what to do?"

"I – "

I stopped myself from continuing.

"See, you can't even deny it! You know you're a control freak who only cares about himself and is the no-good son of a Muggle and a blood-traitor!"

"And you don't care who you hurt the feelings of, so long as you get what you want!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't care how much you hurt everyone else in this school, as long as you can end up dating Lily Evans!"

"That is a serious thing to say! And I'm surprised that you, you hypocrite, would care so much! What bothers you more, that I insult you or that I'm your competition-"

"What on earth is going on in here?"

Dumbledore had come in to check on our progress. When he saw that neither of us had managed to clean a single plaque, he pressed his fingertips together.

"You wouldn't be insulting each other, would you? I'm sure, James, you would love another detention, and so would you, Severus."

His tone was serious but his eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Now, pip-pip!"

We continued to clean the trophies for the next two hours.

Dumbledore returned once we were finished with the detention.

"All right now, off you go to your dormitories!"

I was off quicker than you could say "Hogwarts".

Glad to be rid of the company of James and his rude and insulting comments, sprinted down the dark and deserted hallways. I reached the Slytherin common room in a few minutes. It was a low, dungeon-style room that glowed with a luminescent greenish light. There were heavy metal tables piled with potions and strange objects. I wondered what the other common rooms were like, and if they were as dark and stand-offish. Just by looking at our common room, you could tell that Slytherins were proud and cunning.

I walked down the short flight of dark stairs to the dormitory. I got into my bed and pondered the night over. How on earth could James have known that my mother, Eileen Prince, had married a Muggle named Tobias Snape? And what's more, how could he have known that I had to care for myself, because my parents wouldn't do anything except argue, day and night? And why did he feel like he was so important? I rolled over the questions in my mind, in a never-ending circle, as I drifted closer and closer to dreamland. I worried about homework, the state of the Ministry of Magic, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had gotten hold of my parents. I even touched the thought of why Remus Lupin looked so gray, pale, and peaky. But the final conscious image that crossed my head was of Lily smiling at me from the Gryffindor table.

**James**

The next morning, breakfast went on comfortably, until I noticed something.

"Hey, Sirius," I said.

Sirius lifted his eyes from his plate of crumpets.

"Mmm?"

"Where's Lily?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno. Well, we'll find out in Potions, won't we?"

"Suppose so. But it's a little strange, don't you agree?"

"Sure, but I mean, maybe she just got here early and already left."

"I guess that's a possibility," I said, pondering.

"We better get off to Potions," said Peter nervously.

Sirius, Peter, Remus and I all gathered up our stuff and started off for Professor Slughorn's classroom. Much to my surprise, all Lily and all my other tablemates were already there.

"Hey Kate," said Sirius. She scooted over so they could sit together. Ysabel giggled softly.

I noticed that there was an extra person at our table.

"Who's that?" I asked with a gesture towards her.

"She's my friend Ursula Yu. She was ill until today," Ysabel explained.

"Ok."

"Now, everyone, pay attention! Today, we will be studying the Draught of Peace. Everyone, pick a partner and make it together. The winners will each get a bottle of Felix Felicis. In other words, liquid luck! You may begin," Professor Slughorn instructed.

Lily paired up with Snivelly, Ysabel paired up with Ursula, and Kate made a beeline for Sirius. This convenient arrangement left me partnerless. Sirius gave me a sheepish grin when Kate returned with their materials.

"James, you join with Lily and Severus, all right?" Slughorn asked.

They both scowled.

"I would rather go with Sirius and Kate," I said to Slughorn.

"Then I suppose that's fine. You may join Sirius and Kate."

It was the strangest class I had ever taken. I kept trying to make the potion, while Kate kept making sheep's eyes at Sirius.

All in all, we failed miserably at making the Draught of Peace. None of us having done it before, at the halfway stage, our potion was a furious pink, and our instruction book said it was supposed to be a pale purple. Ysabel and Ursula's potion was lime green. Of course, Snape and Lily's potion was exactly perfect.

"All right, time is up! Don't add anything to your potion and stop stirring!" Slughorn directed.

He came around and surveyed all the potions. When he leaned over our potion, he seemed to choke. Then he walked over to Lily's potion, and he said,

"Well done! You two seem to have natural talent for the subtlety and exactness of potion-making! Fabulous, you two have won the bottles of Felix Felicis! Now, I must warn you, liquid luck is illegal in all organized competitions, exams included. Sporting events, elections, and other contests. But use it on an ordinary day, and watch how it becomes extraordinary! Class dismissed!"

I once again tried to talk to Lily, but as usual, she managed to evade me.

Later that night, I walked briskly towards the Potions room, because that was where I detention was to be held. I wondered what we would be doing.

When I arrived, Lily was already there. She didn't look at me. In about twenty minutes, Dumbledore came.

"Oh, hello, Lily, James!" he said pleasantly, "Today, you will be degutting slugs for Professor Slughorn. Here's how."

Dumbledore demonstrated how to do it, and we did it peacefully for the next ten minutes. As soon as Dumbledore left, Lily looked up and gave me the evil eye.

"You hate me, don't you?" I said.

"Hey, that's kind of my business, not yours," Lily said, and went back to degutting her slug.

"Lily, how many times do I have to say that I'm sorry? I really am. Can't we just move past this and be friends?"

"How about, hmmm…no!"

She finished taking the guts out of the last slug, just as Dumbledore came back into the room.

"Well, it appears you two are done. Off to bed now," he said.

I walked up to the boys' dormitory, where Sirius was waiting up for me.

"So, how bad was it?" he asked.

"So-so. I just don't want to see another slug in my whole life. I hate the little things. That's all we did the whole time. Rip the guts out of stupid slugs. And of course, from Lily, the typical silent treatment. Life could be worse."

"Yes. Uh, James, I don't want to be the bringer of bad news, but I think your life is about to get worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Two words: Liquid Luck," Sirius said.

I looked at Sirius.

"What about it?"

"Oh my word, you dummy! Think! Liquid Luck…Snivelly…Lily…think," Sirius explained slowly.

I sighed.

"To be honest, right now I don't really care. Anyway, g'night Sirius," and with that, I rolled over and fell asleep.

Chapter 5

**Kate**

Over the next few days, nothing exciting happened. But once it was finally Saturday, Sirius invited me to come over to Gryffindor common room and study Potions with him.

"Oooooh, Kate, it's like a study date!" Ysabel said interestedly, "Do you think you will kiss?"

"Come on, Ysabel! It's not really a date, we're just doing homework! Don't be unrealistic. Besides, this is like the third or fourth time we've studied together," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You know he likes you Kate!" Ysabel said cunningly, "and I think you like him too!"

"Well, duh," I said, "If I hated him, I wouldn't agree to do homework with him!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Fine. I like him. I mean, he's the most popular guy in school, not to mention the cutest…"

"Well hurry up, or you're gonna be late to your date with Sirius!"

I gathered up all my potions books and papers, and walked out the door of the Slytherin common room.

I got lost a couple times on the way to the Gryffindor common room, but thank goodness I found it eventually. Sirius had told me the password.

"Bumblebrook!" I said confidently to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"My dear, I don't believe I've seen you before," the portrait said. I was getting impatient.

"I'm on my way over for a study date," I said sheepishly.

"What house are you from?"

"Slytherin," I said slowly. I wasn't quite sure how she'd react, since Gryffindors generally don't like Slytherins.

"Which young Gryffindor lad is lucky enough to have a cunning girl like you for a date?"

"Sirius Black. Can I go in now?"

"That explains you having the last password instead of the current one…" the Fat Lady mused, "But, I can't let you in without the password."

"Please! I don't want to be late, cause if I am than Sirius will think I'm ditching him and I really really like him…" I said, surprising myself a bit.

"Sorry, sweet, but rules are rules. Just hang here for a bit, I'm sure a Gryffindor will come by with the password soon enough."

I sighed, and leaned against the banister.

About five minutes later, the portrait swung open.

"Kate!" Sirius yelled.

"Sirius!"

"I'm really really sorry about not telling you the new password, but you know, I don't know the Slytherin password, so I couldn't go tell you, and…"

"It's ok," I said as we walked through the portrait door thing. The Gryffindor common room was really comfortable looking. All the windows had cushioned window seats, there were big fluffy armchairs by a roaring fire, dark wood tables with matching chairs, and of red and gold drapes by the big windows.

"Wow," was all I could think of to say.

"What, the Slytherin common rooms not like this?" he asked, "Except with green and silver, of course."

"No," I said, thinking of the hard stone common room, with its dungeon feel, and no windows.

"Too bad," he said, taking my books from me and putting them on one of the smaller tables next to his papers.

We worked on the homework for about an hour undisturbed. After all, most of the Gryffindors had gone to get help from teachers, or to practice trick spells in the courtyard.

"Ugh, I hate how we have to know all the Latin names of the roots and plants. Who really cares?" I said.

"I know. I'm so confused at this part, right there," Sirius pointed at a really long paragraph in the middle of my textbook.

I scooted my chair a little closer to his, under the pretense of studying the Potions book. I almost shrieked with joy when he did the same. But I pretend not to notice. And so it went on until our chairs were touching.

"Sirius!" I heard a voice behind us. Me and Sirius both turned around at the same time, at the same speed. And just for a second, our lips brushed against each other.

"Oi!" the voice shouted, "What're you doing, Sirius?"

James Potter looked at us disapprovingly.

"I- uh – I …um…" I stuttered slowly. I hoped my face wasn't turning the color of a tomato.

"You were supposed to be studying, and I come up here and you two are sitting here snogging? Sirius, you were supposed to come help me with pranks half an hour ago!"

"See you later," I said to Sirius and stood to go.

"No, you can stay," James said, "Sirius probably won't be able to think of any pranks right now."

I looked over at Sirius, who was sitting still, his eyes glazed over.

"I think you're right about that one," I said to James, as sat back down in the wooden chair next to Sirius.

"So, are you any good at pranks?" James said as he sat down in one of the chairs, getting to business right away.

"Well, I don't really do too many of them…my parents are both from extremely respected pureblood families. They're sort of into the stereotype girl, only speaks when spoken to, that kind of thing. I didn't want to be in Slytherin…" I said sadly.

"Well, do you have any good materials that could be used for a prank?" James said hopefully.

"My parents gave me some things that might be useful," I said, mentally going through my inventory of random gifts.

"Well, what are they?"

"Um…well I have a Probity Probe, a few Dungbombs, an Auto-Answer Quill, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder...oh, and Amortentia!"

"Amortentia…love…" Sirius said dazedly, his eyes still glassy.

"Great idea, Sirius!" James said ponderingly, "We'll use the Amortentia…no, that will be our end of the year prank, the best one of the whole year. But for right now, uh, well, um, what could we do…I got it! We'll use the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, too, uh…yes, that's it!"

"What's it?" I asked.

"What form is the powder in, dust, or cakes?" James asked.

"Cakes…" I said apprehensively.

"Perfect. We'll stash the cake in Snivelly's back pocket, then, when he sits down for breakfast, poof!" James said with an evil grin.

"How exactly do you plan to stash the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder in Snivellus's clothes?" I pointed out.

"That, Kate, is where you come in. We need the password to the Slytherin common room."

"Even if you get in, everyone will recognize you and they'll kick you out!" I protested.

"And, that, Kate, dear, is where James's extremely convenient Invisibility Cloak comes in," Sirius said, snapping out of his trance.

I gaped at both of them.

"You…he…an Invisibility Cloak!" I gasped out, pointing first at Sirius, then James, and finally throwing my hands in the air, "I can't believe you two!"

"Yes, we are quite amazing, aren't we?" James said, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile.

"No matter what you say, James, I still think Sirius is better," I said, leaning over and giving Sirius a quick kiss.

"Hey, do I get one too?" James pouted.

"I'm not sure Lily would be too pleased with that, James," I said playfully.

"Oh, whatever. What's the Slytherin common room's password?"

I smiled.

"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder."

**Did you like how I introduced the cloak? Was it terrible? I'm excited for fourth year...already got most of it written...and it means trouble for a certain redhead named Lily Evans...**

**anyway, review please!**

**Love,  
Lily**


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